The Veronicas - Lolita

They're back!

After a long, long five year wait the coolest twins on the planet (yeah, that's right Olsen twins, up your game) The Veronicas have returned to the music scene with the first single from their third album Life On Mars.  I have to admit I was a little concerned the girls would be abandoning the dance pop sound they perfected on Hook Me Up in favour of a more rock-tinged sound.  Luckily for me, Lolita takes the frantic sound of Hook Me Up highlights Take Me On The Floor and the title track and makes it a whole lot darker and just a little fucked up.  

Obsession, desperation and addictions, lyrically the song delves a little deeper into the girls' minds than their music has before (they recently admitted the song dealt with issues they had come up against in the music industry as young women).  The song is a thumping club anthem, and by far the most dance-orientated sound The Veronicas have showcased.  In fact, the song is so far removed from what I expected, I had to double check I wasn't listening to a remix of the song.

Still, it's a direction that suits them.  The Veronicas' mix of raw lyrics and dancefloor ready production resulted in Hook Me Up being one of the best pop albums of the last few years and with Lolita as the trailer single, it will come as no surprise if Life On Mars solidifies their status as one of the most exciting pop acts around.  

"You're making a comeback I'm taking your crown"

5/5

Lana Del Rey - Summertime Sadness Music Video

Oh Lana, you've done it again.

It wasn't long ago that we were presented with the 7 minute mini-movie video for National Anthem from the long-haired beauty, and she's already bestowed upon us the visual for album favourite Summertime Sadness.  Lana has played various versions of the same role in her videos, from doomed runaway, to damsel in distress and of course first lady, and in the video for Summertime Sadness Lana is serving us sensual yet suicidal chic.

The motif of death has been glaringly obvious throughout the whole album campaign, in both the videos and the songs themselves (shocking stuff from an album called 'Born To Die') and Summertime Sadness doesn't do much to change things up.  The video depicts a doomed relationship between Lana and her stunning guest star Jamie King, and is effectively compiled of four minutes worth of footage featuring the breathtaking couple either having fun or, y'know, plummeting from great heights to their death.  The whole video calls to mind her beautiful 'doomed prom queen/Carrie' photoshoot from earlier in the year and much like the character she portrayed then, her performance in this video is hauntingly beautiful.  


It may not be uplifting, but it's a perfect marriage of song and visual, as the single itself talks of a love that may be great, but isn't going anywhere and has to hit a wall (or in the video's case, a hard ground).  It's full of silhouettes, stunning scenery and smoky transitions.  Make no mistake, the video is a work of art and is without a doubt the most effective video she has released.  Now if I could just get one video from her that doesn't have such a literal interpretation of the 'Born To Die' mantra.

4.5/5

My one complaint is that out of the six music videos released from the album, four have featured her now trademark cut and paste, heavily filtered style.  It may be pretty to look at, but it's starting to grate a bit and so I'm praying that when she's writing her treatment for the Dark Paradise video, she approaches it from a Born To Die/Blue Jeans angle as opposed to this National Anthem/Summertime Sadness style that she has since perfected. 

Amelia Lily - You Bring Me Joy

Ever since she sang her (vastly superior) rendition of E.T. during the judges' houses level of last year's X Factor, Amelia Lily Oliver was my favourite to win. Quirkily stylish, effortlessly cool and consistently grateful for the opportunity she was getting, it seemed like a complete no brainer to me that Amelia Lily would breeze through to the live shows and beat off other less interesting competitors week by week, until she was eventually crowned winner and beloved by all.  But, much like she did with her own solo career, Kelly Rowland managed to royally fuck things up by sending Amelia Lily home in the first week (not before she cut and dyed her hair pink though.  Smooth move K-Row).  


Weeks went by and I was still mourning the loss of Strawberry Shortcake , until the musical gods sent me two blessings at once - Frankie Cocozza was gone and in his place, Amelia Lily would return to the competition.  Yes, she may have finished third but it was more than enough to grant her a record deal and a much more memorable finishing position than last.

Now here we are, and Amelia is the last of last year's alumni to release her debut single (well, she's the last one I care about anyway).  'You Bring Me Joy' was one of my most anticipated single releases of the year and when I first heard it today I was... so disappointed. "Where's the energy? Where's her personality? WHERE'S THE MIDDLE 8?!" I asked myself as I opted to watch this again and cry into my keyboard.  And yet, I kept going back to the song.  I assumed it was because I wanted to force myself to love it, to love her debut single as much as I loved her on the show.  As it turns out, I was going back to it for a much more simple reason - the song is pretty fucking ace.  


That chorus is one of Xenomania's catchiest of late and the restrained vocals aren't a sign that the song is boring (as I initially thought), rather they are a way of showing that she's perfectly capable of making an impressive song without hitting every note possible.  This song really does get better with every listen (it should also be listened to at a very loud volume. I've never really understood a song sounding better the louder it is until now) and is a far more intriguing direction for Amelia to go in than the Kelly Clarkson/P!nk sound, which was something I feared might happen.  

This album is going to be so perfect, I can feel it in my bones. I really, really hope she gets chart success, not just because I like her so much (which I do) but I also think it'd be pretty hilarious if the girl who they kicked off far too soon ended up being this series' main success story.

Now if she could do a nice acoustic cover version of E.T. as a bonus track for her debut album, I can die happy.

5/5